Sourav Chandidas Ganguly aka Dada, King of Comebacks and God of the Off Side, has been one of the most successful captains in the history of Indian cricket. Whether it’s gutsy off side shots or fiery statements at the press conferences, Ganguly is someone who has always silenced his critics. Apart from his batting, dada has been in the news for his Dadagiri which extended beyond the 22 yards including the commentary box. On his birthday, let’s recall five instances when Ganguly proved his Dadagiri.

The visuals of Ganguly waving his shirt in the balcony of Lord’s have a special place in the archive of our memories. During the finals of the Natwest Trophy, 2002 India won the game against England by 2 wickets and Mohammed Kaif played a vital role by scoring an unbeaten 87 runs of 75 balls. The moment the last run was scored, Ganguly who was fuming with rage remembered the act of Andrew Flintoff and repeated the same. This was subtle was of sending out a message to Indian cricket that, “We have arrived.” The former Indian captain might regret the act but his fans still remember every tiny detail about the incident.

Ganguly trolling Rahul Dravid

The friendly banter between the two captains in the commentary box is quite of an example of Ganguly’s quick wit. Dravid, Harsha Bhogle, and Ganguly were in the commentary box during England vs India, 2014. The topic of discussion was if Dravid had under bowled the left-hander while India toured England in 2007. Rahul Dravid with an intention of jovially taking a dig at Ganguly said, “Sanjay Manjekar made a really good point in the commentary box. If Ganguly had been a yard quicker and just a little bit fitter, he would have been a match-winner.” Pat came the reply from the left-hander and he said, “I wish I was Prime Minister of India. I could have done a whole lot of things.”

Greg Chappell gets trolled

Next in line to get trolled was the former Indian Coach Greg Chappell. The two have the ugliest of fallouts and clearly, the captain hasn’t forgiven Chappell. At least that’s what this statement suggests. During one of the interviews, Rajdeep Sardesai asked Ganguly if, Greg Chappell owed an apology to Indian cricket. Here’s what the cricketer said, “He can call up Tendulkar or Dravid. But he dare not dial my number. If he is hearing this on TV, he dare not call Sourav Ganguly.”

Geoffrey Boycott gets the taste of his own medicine

Dada and Geoffrey Boycott have shared a cordial relationship, but during their stint in the commentary box, the Australian tried to poke fun at the Prince of Kolkata by reminding him waving his jersey at Lord’s. Here’s the conversation:

Boycott: You must mention your experience about taking your jersey off and flying it in the air at the Mecca of Cricket: Lord's! Oh, you naughty boy!